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Assoc Prof. Nicholas Brown | Rethinking Prostate Care: A New Frontier in Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
For millions of men, ageing brings with it a set of frustrating and often disruptive urinary symptoms. These symptoms, caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, can affect sleep, confidence, and overall quality of life. Traditionally, treatment follows a familiar path. Patients begin with medications, often for years, and may eventually progress to surgery if symptoms worsen. Yet this pathway is not without its drawbacks. Medications can cause side effects, while surgery carries risks and recovery time. In recent years, a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure called prostate artery embolisation, or PAE, has begun to challenge this traditional model. At the forefront of this shift is a collaborative research group, led by Dr. Nicholas Brown of the University of Queensland, whose series of P-EASY studies has explored whether PAE could transform how BPH is treated, particularly at earlier stages.
Jean Lycke | Addressing Unmet Medical Needs in Mucosal Disease: A Close-to-Market Innovation Approach
Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is an oral condition characterized by one or several painful mucosal ulcers. RAS affects a large proportion of the population and has a point prevalence of approximately 2–3%, daily. The etiology remains unknown, and there is currently no curative treatment. Most patients experience recurring episodes over time, with each episode typically lasting up to a week. Here, we describe the development of a mucoadhesive patch which, when applied over a RAS ulcer, provides rapid pain relief. The patch is easy for patients to apply when symptoms begin and has the potential to be used as an over-the-counter product. The development of the Mucocort mucoadhesive patch is an example of a Close-to-Market innovation strategy that embraces simplicity within a complex healthcare system. By simplifying the product concept, the team has reduced the number of regulatory steps required before market approval. This MedTech/Pharma innovation model, known as the “4R” framework – Re-purposing, Re-formulation, Re-positioning, and Re-patenting – has guided the program from concept to commercialization. In addition to the biodegradable mucoadhesive patch developed for RAS ulcers, the team is extending the innovation concept to a mucoadhesive gel formulation for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced mucositis. This gel-based program is being commercialized separately through MucoShield.
The Translational Asian Agerelated Macular Degeneration Program Phase 2 (TAAP-2): Reimagining the Future of Vision Care
Age-related macular degeneration, often abbreviated as AMD, is one of the leading causes of vision loss among older adults worldwide. In Asia, where populations are ageing rapidly, its impact is particularly profound. For many, the disease quietly erodes central vision, making everyday activities such as reading, driving, and recognising faces increasingly difficult. Against this backdrop, the Translational Asian Age-related Macular Degeneration Programme, or TAAP for short, has emerged as a bold and ambitious effort to confront the disease headon. Now in its second phase, TAAP-2 represents a significant evolution in both scientific scope and clinical ambition.
Professor Neil Coffee – Professor Vincent Versace | Mapping Health Access: Using Address-Level Intelligence for Smarter Services
Accessing healthcare is a serious challenge for people living in rural and remote Australia. Large distances, sparse populations, and limited services can prevent residents from receiving care when they need it. Professors Neil Coffee and Vincent Versace at Deakin University’s Centre for Australian Research into Access (CARA) are leading research to model healthcare service access across the country, to provide new insights that can guide health planning and policy, as well as other services such as education. This work combines the curation of detailed address level residential dwellings and road network data to calculate access to service metrics (time and distance). These metrics are applied to the simulated residential dwelling population, to quantify the population with poor access to health services.